Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Apple is building giant new ring-shaped campus for its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Its design and overall futuristic qualities have inspired the nickname “the Spaceship campus.” Although construction on the campus (actual name Campus 2) has barely begun, Tim Cook says new Apple ‘Spaceship’ HQ will be the greenest building on the planet.

“We’re building a new headquarters that will, I think, be the greenest building on the planet. It’ll be a center for innovation, and it’s something clearly our employees want and we want,” Cook said.
The under-construction building will be a “net-zero-facility”, which means it will produce its own energy to power its premises “using 700,000 square feet of solar panels, creating 8 megawatts of power”, according to CBS Local.

The campus will rely on natural ventilation instead of temperature control during 75 percent of the year. Apple will also be installing more than 300 electric vehicle charging stations on the campus and planting more than 7,000 trees on the grounds.

Even the glass used in the windows will be special, made in a curved form by a German company that had to double its factory capacity to finish the project, which will require 6 square kilometers of glass.

Opening of the Cupertino facility has been delayed by almost two years, and the cost has increased from an initial $3 billion to the estimated $5 billion since Steve Jobs announced it at what would be his last public appearance, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.